A Brighton man who fired a rifle through his front door towards a neighbour’s home during a police standoff has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
Daniel William Forster, 42, was this month sentenced in the Supreme Court of Tasmania to 18 months imprisonment, wholly suspended for 18 months.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of recklessly discharging a firearm and one charge of using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.
Chief Justice Chris Shanahan said the offending occurred on March 21, 2024, after Forster argued with his wife at their Brighton home.
The court heard Forster retrieved rifles from his gun safe and barricaded himself in the bedroom.
His wife ran to a neighbour’s house for help. By chance, the neighbour’s daughter was a police officer who was visiting for dinner.
A standoff followed, with Forster sitting in his backyard holding the firearm. He told officers he wanted to be left alone.
After 90 minutes of negotiations, Forster handed over three of his four firearms but kept one rifle.
Shanahan said negotiations later broke down when Forster came to believe police had been dishonest with him.
The court heard Forster then fired several shots inside the house and five shots through the front door.
Bullets struck a property across the road four times, damaging a fence, retaining wall, boat and garage door.
A family of four was sheltering inside that home. Nobody was injured.
Police deployed gas and Forster surrendered at 11pm.
He was admitted to the Royal Hobart Hospital and stayed as a voluntary patient for 19 days.
Shanahan said the offending could easily have ended in tragedy.
“What you did could easily have led to tragedy and loss of life,” he said.
“You put many people at risk, including neighbours and police.”
The court accepted a forensic psychiatrist’s finding that Forster’s mental health had reduced his moral culpability, but Shanahan said this had to be weighed against his voluntary drinking on the night.
The court heard Forster has since stopped drinking, returned to part-time work and continues to engage with mental health services.
His firearms licence has been cancelled.
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